Ford, 16, of Glen Cove Drive, will compete in the 30th annual Red Bull AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch from Monday to Saturday.
Ford, who is home schooled, has qualified six straight years and will be competing in Schoolboy 1 (125cc) and Schoolboy 2 (250Fcc).
He has won numerous local and national level events and has been ranked nationally in the top 10 the past four years. He began riding when he was 7.
Ford trains in Albany at Nario Izzi’s facility.
He will travel to the championship event with his parents, Ricky and Valerie, his grandmother Sue Brown and his mechanic, Zack Jeffords.
He is one of 1,386 to qualify for the championship, which drew more than 20,000 hopefuls from across the country.
“The Amateur Nationals at Loretta Lynn’s is the event every motocross racer in the country wants to compete in,” Tim Cotter, event director, said. “A win at the Amateur Nationals gives a rider instant national notoriety and can serve as a springboard to a lucrative professional motocross career.”
Racers may enter a variety of classes, from mini-cycle classes for children as young as 4, all the way up to a senior division for riders over 50. There are also classes for women and for both stock and modified bikes.
The track is on a section of Loretta Lynn’s Ranch and Campground in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. The course contains a variety of jumps, corners and other obstacles designed to test the skills and stamina of the racers.
The event is the world’s largest and most prestigious amateur motocross racing program. It serves as a launch pad for some of the biggest names in professional motocross and supercross, including Ricky Carmichael, James Stewart, Ryan Villopoto and Ryan Dungey.
The national qualifying program consists of 52 area qualifiers and 12 regional championship events hosted at select motocross facilities across the country. The qualifying program culminates in the national final hosted annually at the home of country music star Loretta Lynn since 1982.